AVENGERS Budget Crunch?

Bleeding Cool has a vaguely worded report suggesting Marvel Studios may be headed for money troubles on their mega-pic The Avengers.

Marvel has a well-earned reputation for being penny-pinchers with their studio-controlled titles. They've had public spats over paychecks with John Favreau, Terrence Howard and Samuel L. Jackson. Rumor has it that their frugal ways caused tense negotiations with the likes of Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson as well.

Bleeding Cool's report, which is completely unsourced and impossible to verify, indicates that Marvel is mandating that The Avengers budget be tamped down as well, in spite of the all-star cast and epic premise. Reportedly spending is to be on par with the first Spider-Man film, although that was done for north of $125 million, which ain't exactly low-budget.

According to the report, insiders are saying the movie, as it's currently planned, can't be done for that money. Supposedly certain members or the project have walked off due to the budgetary constraints. Others are allegedly hanging in and assuming Marvel will come to their senses and bump up the cash flow later in the process.

Supposedly the turmoil has delayed pre-production on the film by weeks, or even months.

As we said, the report gives little in the way of sources or evidence to back itself up, but if we had to guess, we'd say some of those disgruntled walk-offs are talking to Rich Johnston.

FIREBREATHER Set For Holiday Bow

From a press release...

Cartoon Network’s first-ever CGI original movie event, Firebreather, premieres on Wednesday, November 24 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT). Directed by Peter Chung (Aeon Flux) and based on the comic book series by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn, Firebreather delivers fierce action in the clash of two worlds where monsters roam the Earth and past secrets are exposed. At the center of it all, a teenage boy named Duncan struggles to find his place as half-Kaiju and half-human.

It’s not easy being a teen like Duncan. His mom wants him to pay more attention to his homework, while his dad – a 120-foot, fire-breathing Kaiju from the depths of the earth – wants him to follow in his monstrous footsteps. Duncan faces trials by fire from two worlds — in one, overcoming his father’s challenges to prepare for the Kaiju throne; in the other, coping with life in a new high school. Ultimately, Firebreather is a story of a boy choosing between two different paths put before him by his parents. Through it all, only Duncan can determine his own future.

Firebreather is written by Jim Krieg (Ben 10: Alien Swarm) and executive produced by Julia Pistor (Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events).

The Firebreather voice cast includes:

Jesse Head as Duncan

Dana Delany as Margaret

Kevin Michael Richardson as Belloc

Reed Diamond as Barnes

Amy Davidson as Jenna

Tia Texada as Isabel

Dante Basco as Kenny

Josh Keaton as Troy

Cartoon Network has also provided this poster from the show:

Video - DC SHOWCASE: SUPERMAN/SHAZAM

MTV Splash Page has rolled out an exclusive video clip from the upcoming DC Showcase home entertainment release. The DVD and Blu-Ray collects the short animated films that have appeared on recent release. They feature Green Arrow, Jonah Hex and The Spectre. The package also includes an all-new short called Superman/Shazam: The Return Of Black Adam.

Check it out:

NBC Getting Some REST

Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia waded into the world of comics a few years back with the Devil's Due and Top Cow title Rest.

Now, according to Deadline.com, Ventimiglia has a deal with NBC to produce and star in a TV series based on the comic. Ventimiglia would star as John Barret, a young, career-oriented New Yorker who enrolls in a program to test an experimental drug that alleviates the need for sleep. His addiction to the drug helps him accomplish more but has devastating consequences.

According to Deadline, the comic was created by Ventimiglia, Russ Cundiff and Mark Powers based on a script by Mike O'Sullivan (which makes us want to say that O'Sullivan actually created all this and everyone else is latching on, but what do we know). Ventimiglia and Cundiff will serve as executive producers. Tow Cow's Marc Silvestri and Matt Hawkins are also executive producers.

The comic series was initially published through Devil's Due, although when that publisher fell into financial difficulties, Top Cow picked it up and completed the story in trade paperback form last month.

TV and Broadway producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producing. At this point NBC has made a script commitment to the show.

Rob M. Worley is the writer and creator of the all-new, all-cat kids comic book series Scratch9. Issues #1 and #2 are in stores now. Issue #1 is also available as a digital download via iVerse Media's iTunes app. Visit Scratch9.com for news and info!

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

How can marvel feel they need to penny pinch? I mean they are owned by freaking Disney for cripes sakes!! They have a license to print money!!! i think this report is false 100%! Why would they need to worry about money at all at this point especially for the Avengers project!

I hope Marvel realizes they're going to have to spend the money to make the money. I don't want to see Marvel's frugality hinder the film. That would be a real shame. Avengers is going to be unique; the first movie of its kind. Don't be cheap...spend the money. You'll more than make it up when the movie hits the big screen and DVD.

I figured DC would release a DVD with the shorts; that's why I never spent the extra money when I bought all of the other DVDs. The Shazam short looks great.

I hope Cartoon Network's original work doesn't suck as badly as SyFy's. SyFy's put out movies that are so bad they could be featured on the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 show.

Marvel might penny pinch but when push comes to shove they have always given over the cash. I suppose you can't blame them for trying but at least they have the sense to say wait a sec, we'll give you the money. Avengers is going to make a huge sum of money worldwide so giving them an extra $50 mil or something like that shouldn't really be a big deal. There are very few guarantees in Hollywood, but this film is one of them.

No doubt Disney will kick in a few bucks if necessary. This is Marvel's biggest project to date, and they really need to go all in on this one. As long as Joss remains onboard, all should be fine. But if he bolts, alot of people will jump ship.

Avengers: Hmmmm.... My knee-jerk reaction is to tell Marvel to pony up the cash. However, all of the tactics they have implemented to date actually seem to have worked out quite well. There is nothing wrong with trying to make a movie and be financially prudent at the same time. I say more power to them if they end up with a product as good as their track record as of late. In the end, all that matters is the quality of the movie.

Shazam/DC Shorts: I'll buy it but only if Best Buy offers a copy with an exclusive Captain Marvel figure. I already have the other shorts included in their other releases, so that is about the only thing that would make me pony up the cash for it.

By the way, I wish they would decide what to call this dude. If his name is Captain Marvel, then quit referring to him as Shazam!

I can see Marvel trying to be as cheap as they were with their previous films. I don't understand why after the success that IronMan 1 and 2, The Hulk, and their animated movies, why still feel like they are taking a gamble with these movies. It's either that or they are trying to make as much money as they can for nothing. They make good movies but I am glad I don't work for them.

I think that the Avengers thing is bogus. The key words in the above story is "unsourced" and "impossible to verify." The budget constraints that the article talks about were before Marvels being bought by Disney. I just don't see Disney low balling this and causing a delay in production.

Disney may have money but they, like most corporations, are about making as much money as possible perfering that to even spending "pocket change." Prince Caspian's profit wasn't ginormous enough for them so they dumped the franchise. If they sign the stars to "back end" deals, it'll be fine for all concerned.

Shazam- Black Tom needs a beard or something. I suppose the Marvel Black Tom (Will he ever appear in an X-Men film?) has one so this one can't... Shazam!

Why is Marvel even involved in this. Doesn't Disney now own everything Marvel related? Isn't Disney's money that's going to be used to produce the film? And if it isn't and the story is true the Marvel is being stupid. Spend the money to make the best picture you can and the audiences will come.